SOCHI, Russia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Sochi organizers have a new frustration to contend with, and that is the large number of empty seats at key events.
It is not uncommon to see empty seats during the beginning of the Olympics, especially the preliminary rounds, but there are empty seats for events such as men's slopestyle, which was a gold medal final. The Shayba Arena holds 7,000 people, but for the ice hockey matches between the United States and Finland and then Sweden and Japan, the number of people in attendance were in the 3,000 to 4,000 range.
According to Aleksandra Kosterina, spokeswoman for the 2014 Olympic Games, 92 percent of the tickets for the first day of events were sold out but actual turnout was 81 percent. This, she says, is due to the "Russian mentality," "Russians like to come to the event not prior but as close as possible, and that is why, indeed, we had an issue of a lot of spectators being late for the games."
Due to the high amount of security for the games this year, people need to arrive in plenty of time. Spectators cannot just enter with tickets alone but must present a spectator card, which has their picture ID encased in plastic. The cards may only take a few minutes but the lines at the accreditation center are hours long. Many people miss their events or they just choose to give up in frustration at the long lines and leave.
Some of the seats are reserved for families of athletes in prime locations, which makes the swaths of empty seats that much more embarrassing to show on television around the world.
The organizers are working to encourage people to come earlier, letting volunteers take the seats, and are encouraging local fans to come in hopes of improving attendance.
[NBC]
